Business rescue and recovery specialist Begbies Traynor has bought Cheshire-based insolvency firm Cooper Williamson in a deal potentially worth up to £2.5m.

Begbies Traynor - which itself ranked 15 in Accountancy's Top 60 survey (2012) with a £57.7m fee income and a pre-tax profit of £6.9m - paid an initial consideration of £900,000 for Cooper Williamson to owners Keith Tully, Jonathan Munnery and Dylan Quail. This comprised cash of £450,000 and the issue of 1.1m new ordinary shares.

There is a deferred consideration of up to £1.1m, either in cash or shares, based on financial performance over the next three years. A further discretionary consideration of up to £500,000 might be paid if the firms meets 'robust turnover targets' in the following two years.

Cooper Williamson, which operates the RealBusinessRescue website, reported revenue of £1.7m and a pre-tax profit of £400,000 in the year to 31 May 2013. The firm will now be based in Begbies Traynor's Manchester head office.

Bebgies Traynor said the deal will allow the combined business to benefit from national opportunities generated by Cooper Williamson's business rescue website which has been a 'significant' driver of new cases for the firm.

Begbies Traynor's chairman Ric Traynor said: 'The acquisition of Cooper Williamson is an exciting development for us, and is in line with our strategy to enhance our position as the UK's leading independent insolvency practice. It will reinforce our presence in the North West and give us the opportunity to expand Cooper Williamson's already successful model and business rescue internet portal on a national scale.'